Etching Machine

(in printing), a device that performs the acid etching of metal cuts.

A distinction is made between rotor, nozzle (jet), pneumatic, and turbine etching machines, depending on the way in which acid is supplied. Rotor etching machines, in which a rotor (a bladed shaft) is lowered into the acid poured into the lower part of the housing, are the most common. When the shaft turns, the acid is sprayed up and strikes the cut, which is mounted face down.